Guardian
by Lightning Bee
Summary: Set straight after season 2. Cured from his bite, Damon questions himself while watching the stars and takes comfort from one of his newest secrets. No pairings. Oneshot.


**A/N: A bit of a random idea spurred from an old plan I once had for a different fic. Please R + R.**

**Pairings: None mentioned**

**Warnings: An OC, swearing and some brooding**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except Claire.**

Damon stood on the back porch of the Salvatore home staring up at them moon and stars thoughtfully. It was night now and the sky was a cloudless inky black; perfect for stargazing. The vampire sighed deeply and put his hands in his jeans pockets so he couldn't clench them into fists. Back when they were human Stefan used to love watching the stars on nights like this one. Damon wondered if his brother still did. Not that it mattered; somehow he didn't think Klaus would let Stefan spend his nights staring at the sky. It was more probable that the original would be forcing him to rip an unsuspecting family into shreds instead. Damon felt guilt settle in the pit of his stomach at the thought and he glanced back into the house for a moment. It was his fault that Stefan was gone and in the hands of Klaus. If he hadn't of got himself bitten then none of this would have happened. There would have been no need for the cure. The stupid fucking cure that was ruining Stefan's life.

"You can save him you know," a familiar voice told him sweetly from behind him. Damon felt a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"I would have thought that now I'm not dying I wouldn't see you around anymore," he stated softly as he turned around to face the speaker. She smiled at him gently, glowing in the pale moonlight.

"Guardian angels only disappear when they are not needed anymore Damon, and you need me right now," the girl replied brushing some of her white blonde hair behind her ear. Damon smirked at the familiar and welcome action, shaking his head in a mocking way.

"Good to know," he replied before turning away so he could stargaze a while longer. The blonde stepped up to beside him and placed a hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. They were silent for a moment before Damon spoke again , his voice quiet and truthful. "I'm glad you're still here."

"I know you are," she said simply "I can feel your emotions remember?" Damon let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, that still freaks me out," he admitted "Can you try not to remind me of that kind of stuff Claire?"

"Of course." The lapsed into wordlessness once more and Damon gave the girl beside him a fleeting look. It felt strange to have her there knowing that no one else could see her if he was perfectly honest. In fact, he had thought she was a hallucination the first time he had seen her; it had been just after Stefan had locked him up after he'd tried to kill himself via the sun. She had simply appeared in the cell beside him exactly as she was now; pale, blonde and glowing with ethereal light, clad in the purest white dress he had ever seen. She had spoken to him then as well, trying to soothe his pain with her words. When he had asked her why she had appeared to him she had told him he was a special case worth breaking the rules for. He hadn't understood at the time but she had explained it to him when he'd quizzed her about it. Guardian angels were actually forbidden to reveal themselves to their charges and that was exactly what Claire was – Damon's guardian. Apparently there had been a big riot in the 'higher realms' about her actions but Damon didn't really care. He was just grateful to have someone who truly understood him to talk to.

"So you said I could save Stefan?" he prompted after a while in silence. Claire nodded slowly in agreement.

"Yes, yes I did."

"And you honestly believe that?" Damon continued in disbelief, not letting any hope seep into his tone even though it was beginning to creep into his heart at the idea of Claire being able to tell him a way to.

"Yes," Claire confirmed tilting her head to one side "Don't you?"

"You know I don't!" he growled angrily, brushing her hand off his arm with a rough shake. "Just tell me how to do it." The angel shook her head sadly.

"You have to figure that out for yourself," she told him, looking down at the floor as she spoke. He grabbed her chin tightly and forced her head up so her sea green eyes met his blue ones. In the back of his mind he knew that to anyone who saw him he would look like he was snatching at thin air but at that moment it didn't matter to him. He went to speak but something made him stop suddenly. Claire's eyes reminded him of Stefan's somehow, although they were a shade lighter than his dark emerald orbs. Damon let her go quickly, withdrawing his hand and stepping back.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, hanging his own head.

"I understand," Claire reassured him, walking forwards and repeating the action he had done to her to him but with a softer touch. "I honestly do."

"I know," he muttered, letting out a deep breathe to calm down "It's just…"

"Difficult?" Claire finished for him. He nodded. "Of course it is. I feel exactly the same way but you have to fight it. I know you can save Stefan because that's the path I'm supposed to guide you down." Damon blinked.

"You feel my emotions as if they're your own?" he asked in surprise.

"Well yes…part of the job description I suppose," Claire replied with a shrug "why do you ask?"

"What happens to you if I die?" The blonde smiled slightly and moved away from him.

"I think you know that."

"Oh…" Damon swallowed, suddenly feeling as if he could sense the connection between them; two people with just one life – his. It hardly seemed fair. Knowing what he was thinking the girl quickly spoke again.

"We're getting off topic now though. You need to-"

"Damon?" a third voice cut in. The vampire's head whipped around to find the source of the sound to see Elena standing at the open door looking unimpressed. "What are you doing walking around so soon?" she continued "You should be resting."

"I'm fine Elena," he assured her "I just wanted to look at the stars for a bit." Elena sighed and tossed her hair over her shoulder impatiently.

"Well you're supposed to be in bed," she told him in a frustrated tone "Come on." With a roll of his eyes Damon walked over to her and she went inside. He glanced back at Claire as she did and the angel inclined her head towards him with a small grin before making shooing motions with her hands. Damon smiled at her and followed Elena inside feeling like a huge weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders.

Tomorrow he was going to save his brother and nothing in the world – not an original, not sickness, not Elena – was going to stop him.


End file.
